The Amgen Tour of California returns

I am spoked stoked! The Amgen Tour of California bicycle race has returned to the Golden State, with Lance Armstrong mounting his comeback in fine style today in Sacramento.

I first encountered the Tour of California one year ago, when one of the stages started here in Modesto. It was a thrill to watch the racers take off on a 100-mile-plus ride to San Jose over Mt. Hamilton. The 2009 tour started today with a prologue of time trials in the capitol city. For the next week or so, Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, Floyd Landis and several dozen other of the best cyclists in the world will be wheeling through California. It’s a privilege to have them here (and I’m very happy to report having scored an Amgen cap to complement the cow bell I picked up last year).